Not THAT Chunin Exam Day
by This is Tato
Summary: Naruto finds himself trapped in a loop during his Chunin Exams. There must be some way to escape... right? Based on 'Groundhog Day'.
1. Chapter 1

**There aren't really any good Chunin Exam time-loops on FF. So I've taken up the challenge of making a good Chunin Exam timeloop with content and an ending that makes sense. There are no godlike entities, no harems, no blatant misogyny (unless the character in question has the tendency to be sexist), no sexual themes because they are twelve year olds , and I'll try to keep everyone in character. As a warning, Naruto will have character development, so by the end of the story there might be change, but not so much for him to be a NINO [Naruto In Name Only].**

 **Credit:** PixelTheSquare helped in the process of editing this chapter. The credit for title of the story goes to Roffster from SpaceBattles.

* * *

 **Chapter One**

* * *

Naruto couldn't clearly recall the events that led him back to the stadium.

He knew that he had been travelling alongside Sakura, Shikamaru and Shino, trailing after Sasuke because the bastard was going off to face _Gaara_. The redhead had half transformed, looking more monster than human and fled far away from the arena. Sasuke probably thought it was some sort of challenge.

But he couldn't have seen what Naruto had seen.

A purple barrier had risen upwards into the sky, high enough to be seen above the treetops. His feet had skidded to a stop, dirt flying in every direction. Hard eyes scanned the new establishment and lingered on the two figures trapped within it.

The old man was trapped in there. With Orochimaru.

Naruto had to do something; he couldn't leave the old man to die.

The choices he had left were limited. His heart plummeted into the pits of his stomach. Help the old man break out of that barrier, or get to Sasuke before he puts himself into a sticky situation. He swore silently at Sasuke. In seconds, he was moving again, pushing himself to move as fast as he possibly could.

That bastard better stay alive long enough for him to get back and help him. He only hoped that Shikamaru, Sakura, and Shino didn't get hurt on the way because of his absence.

As he neared the village, movements outside of the barrier caught his eye, and he turned his head just in time to witness two of the ANBU burn into flames, screaming as they tried to move through the barrier.

His lips stung and the faint taste of copper and metal filled his mouth. Teeth were sharpening into fangs, and projected themselves into his bottom lips but he didn't care.

The screams and yells of the people around him, melted into a pool of silence as he processed what had happened. Then he heard one of the sound ninjas maintaining the barrier, laughing cruelly as the ANBU burnt to ashes. Their voices burnt into the back of his mind, repeating again and again.

Naruto saw nothing but burning crimson engulf his very being as he scampered towards the sound nin.

'How dare he laugh? They were just trying to save the old man'

 _"THOSE PEOPLE HAD LIVES."_

He never realized that he had screamed the last sentence out loud.

Orochimaru was in clear view now, a disturbing smirk plastered on his pale face. The snake-bastard was eyeing him with condescending glee, as though he was just some bug that needed to be squashed.

Cold whispers of dark promises circled in his mind. Voices assuring him that they would give him all the power he needs, if he just said yes. It was one simple word with one simple syllable.

Then he said yes.

Everything burned. His bones felt like they were ready to crumble, but his muscles were willing him to move, to attack, to destroy. Yet underneath all the pain and blood, he was alive like never before. The intoxicating power flowing through him felt incredible. He faintly wondered why he had not listened sooner.

He could do anything.

But first he needed to kill them all. They hurt innocent people – his innocent people. They trapped one of the few people who gave a rat's ass about him. They were not allowed to get away with it.

ANBU were yelling at him to stop, but what did they know? They didn't have the power he was controlling right now.

He was Uzumaki fucking Naruto, and he wasn't going to die without getting his head on that mountainside, and his ass behind the Hokage's desk.

The electricity poured through his veins, bringing with it the caresses of agonizing pain. His body was continuously repairing itself but simultaneously break down – a never ending process. He felt like he was trapped in a living hell for hours.

But he refused to give up. He dragged himself further in despite his body's protesting, and the voices in his head were alive again. Only this time they were frantically shrieking at him to stop this madness, and get out of there right now.

Stubbornly shaking his head, he tried to move on. He had to help his village, he had to help the Hokage, and he had to help Sasu—

Red chakra merged with the purple energy of the barrier forming a disgustingly bland magenta, and then darkened until it was nothing more than blackness.

* * *

The blond woke up in a half-awake daze, mangled between his bed sheets and covers, and howling as he punched at an invisible enemy.

"TAKE THIS," he screamed at his attacker, sending an uppercut to the pillow at his side.

The seams of the pillow case burst apart, and soft feathers rained down onto his bed and the floor of his apartment.

"Er-wha?" he blinked, staring at his clenched fist then at the torn pillowcase underneath him.

He heard the birds nesting near his window fly off in a panic at the noise. The walls thumped as the neighbors banged and yelled, threatening to call the landlord if he made any more noise.

Naruto stuck out a tongue at the wall, not caring if his neighbors couldn't see it. The boy scratched at his neck, trying to process what had just happened. Wasn't he fighting in the third Exam until—?

His thoughts stopped as he remembered Orochimaru and that smile. The old man was in trouble! He scrambled to get up, barely avoiding Mr. Uke and proceeded to scan the streets through the window.

Konoha was the same it had ever been. The houses of the civilians were still upright and standing just like yesterday, and there definitely were no holes in the walls that were circling protectively around the village.

Almost like nothing ever happened.

Did he just dream up the entire third exam, complete with an invasion? That was incredibly stupid.

He clucked his tongue, as he grabbed one of his tracksuits off the floor. All that wasted time, dreaming when he could have been training for the matches today.

His fingers fumbled to zip his jacket.

It was all so silly now that he thought about it. Suna would never side with that snake-bastard, and there's no way in hell, Sasuke would ever be late for his own match.

Actually, seeing how he was training with Kakashi...

His sensei would probably be late to his own funeral.

'Not his problem.' He shrugged. Sasuke will be there.

Fully dressed and armed, Naruto prepared to leave to the stadium. He stole a quick glance at the clock, to make sure that he wasn't going to be late or anything. He'll definitely kick Neji's ass today, and Sasuke's while he was at it.

The first surprise of the late morning was when he stood at the doors of the stadium which oddly enough were locked. At first, Naruto thought he was late and they already stopped incomers, which made no sense. Or perhaps he was still early?

He had left the house an hour earlier than the intended time. The stadium should have been at least half full by now, but there weren't any noises. It was too silent and empty. A few knocks later, and there was still no response. Weird.

At the end, the blond decided to wait it out. Someone's got to walk by sooner or later. Right?

It was late afternoon, and there were still no signs of the competitors or any of the bystanders. Naruto kicked at a rock in frustration. It made absolutely no sense. Maybe he should go ask his team what's going on. There was probably some memo he didn't get. Kakashi would know what's up.

He didn't have to look far. After only a few minutes of walking to the training fields, he had by some miracle bumped into the very people he was looking for.

"Oi, bastard," he pointed at Sasuke, and turned to face his other teammate, "Sakura-chan, what's—"

A stony fist collided into his face sending him to the ground.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's hands covered her mouth, as her eyes widened and began to fill up with tears.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto snapped, aiming a punch at Sasuke's chest. Sasuke countered it with expertise and sent the blond flying again.

He could faintly see Sakura running in front of him; her arms outstretched and defending his body as he struggled to get off the ground.

"Sasuke-kun, stop this," her words were mumbled, and her lips were quivering.

"Sakura," his eyes looked murderous as they glinted red, "Move."

She felt like her innards had tied themselves into various knots, because the words couldn't find the way out of her mouth.

"N-n-no—" her eyes drew to Naruto who was pushing himself off the ground.

"Let me at him," the blond snarled, trying to figure out the best way he could get to Sasuke without hurting Sakura in the process.

"It's just an exam," she yelled at them both, "It's just an exam." She repeated in a quieter demeanor, her shoulders slumping forward.

Sasuke stared at her for a few moments and turned on his heel, feet kicking the ground as he made his way to the training grounds.

"You all are dead weight. _To me._ " The last two words weren't spoken aloud, but they still rang out loud and clear.

"Sasuke-kun," she reached a hand out to him, but he had already disappeared.

Scalding tears spilled onto her pale face as she turned to Naruto.

"Why didn't you come to the examination center?" she choked out, "We were looking for you for ages, and you weren't home—"she cut herself off with a sniffle.

"But I did Sakura-chan," he said, his face scrunched up with confusion. He had absolutely no clue what was going on. "But nobody was at the stadium, and I was even early this time,"

"…the stadium?"

"Yeah for the third exam? Did I miss my match or something?" he pulled at his hair. "Dammit, dammit, dammit,"

"What are you talking about?" the tips of her ears were turning red.

She had stayed up until the early hours of the morning in sheer worry because of this exam. The decision to enter the exam had not been an easy one. Granted, she did not know they all had to agree for them to enter as a team, but it was still a difficult choice. People had died in the Chunin exams.

While they desperately searched every nook and cranny of Konoha (without the help of Kakashi who said that Naruto had to come on his own terms), she had sympathized with his supposed decision to not enter. It was out of character for him, but she was only just starting to get to know the enigma that was Naruto. When Sasuke tried to pummel him through the dirt, she had surprised herself when she had jumped in between them. The thought of being in Naruto's position, which she easily could have been in had gnawed on her mind. She was very close to being the one getting chewed out by Sasuke a few moments ago.

And it turns out; Naruto just simply got the area and exam mixed up for some unknown reason.

Her hands trembled for a few seconds.

That idiot.

"Sakura," She felt the warmness of a familiar hand on her shoulder.

"Kakashi-sensei, I…"

His uncovered eye crinkled, and she watched him smile beneath his mask.

"It's alright. I'm not disappointed with any of you."

"But—"

"This isn't your only chance to advance you know," Kakashi cut the kunoichi off, "There are plenty of opportunities. You three are just rookies after all. You'll all be ready for the exams next time."

"Next time?" Naruto asked.

"There are Chunin Exams every six months, usually rotated in different nations each time. While I would have preferred having you attend the one in Konoha, we do send out exceptional genin to exams in other nations from time to time. So cheer up," he ruffled the hair on both of their heads.

"But what about Sasuke-kun?" she looked upset again, looking at her feet, "He was really angry earlier," she said quietly.

"I'll talk to him in a bit. You have to understand that he just wants to get powerful quickly, and thought that a promotion in rank meant an increase in power. It takes more than raw strength and different jutsu to become a Chunin after all," He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Perhaps I should have mentioned that yesterday."

"I guess so," she shuffled her feet.

"Go home and rest for the day. We'll have a nice training session at the usual place tomorrow at seven sharp,"

"Knowing you Kakashi-sensei, that means you'd be there at noon," she said with a small smile.

"Those pesky cats always get stuck in trees, they never seem to give me a break those days," he replied back.

She wiped her eyes, and walked back in the direction of her home, leaving Kakashi and Naruto behind.

Kakashi pulled out a worn out orange book from his pocket.

"I'll walk you home Naruto,"

On their way back to the apartment districts where Naruto resided, the blond relayed the events of that morning to his teacher with frustration.

"I still don't understand, Kakashi-sensei," he said, as he rubbed at the sore spot on his cheek, "I was sure that I was supposed to be at the stadium today."

Kakashi glanced at him behind his book with curiosity. "Mm, I'm the one who doesn't understand. I'm sure I told you along with Sasuke and Sakura, that the exam was to take place at the academy today."

"Yeah, see that's what doesn't make sense," said Naruto, "How would we be able to fight each other in those tiny classrooms? Iruka-sensei would get really pissed if I break his desk or something. I got into a lot of trouble when I did it the first time in the academy" he stuck out his tongue playfully as he recalled his old days of pranking.

Kakashi stopped walking.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"What makes you think it was a battle-related exam, Naruto?" he asked casually, and attempted to loosen up his stiff shoulders without Naruto noticing.

"Sensei, stop kidding around! You know I was supposed to fight Neji, and Sasuke was supposed to fight Gaara,"

When Kakashi didn't respond, Naruto blabbed on further. "You took Sasuke for a month-long training session. Remember?"

"I'm sure I would remember training Sasuke personally for a month," Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "And I wasn't aware you knew Gai's students. But everything you just said didn't happen."

"Oh man," Naruto pulled down on his hair in anguish, "Did I dream the entire exam up?" he said as fell to his knees, hoping the ground would just swallow him up, "I can't believe I missed my very first Chunin Exam. No wonder Sasuke was so mad." He started slapping at his cheeks a few times, before getting back up on his feet.

"Did you drink sour milk before you slept again?" Kakashi asked the boy who looked away sheepishly. "You should check the expiry date before you drink something, or at least smell it," he crinkled his nose at the thought of drinking bad milk.

"That was just one time, Kakashi-sensei!" he snapped, glaring at his teacher who just smiled and returned his gaze to his little book.

"Don't worry, you're still my adorable little student. If you train hard, maybe you'll get promoted in the next exam," The boy leaned his head away from his teacher.

"Don't call me that. It's creepy coming from an old man like you, Sensei," he said bluntly.

"That's harsh," Kakashi replied dramatically, "Anyways, I have to hand back a report that was due—"he glanced thoughtfully in the direction of the Hokage tower, "—around four hours ago,"

Ignoring Naruto's ramblings about his tardiness, the man disappeared with a poof of smoke, leaving the boy alone once again with his thoughts.

Naruto walked aimlessly around the village for an hour or two, and then made a stop at Ichiraku's for a few quick bowls of ramen. The usual wondrous flavor of Ichiraku's ramen tasted like ashes on his tongue, but he decided not to bring it up to Teuchi. For the first time, he had no appetite for his favorite dish.

By the time he had made it home, it was too late to go out and start training, but still a little earlier than his usual bedtime. In the end, he decided to opt for an early night's rest.

But not before throwing the old milk in his fridge into the trash-bin.

* * *

The first thing he felt that morning, was a slight tickling sensation on his foot which dangled out of bed.

"Sakura-chan, stop," he mumbled as he let his head sink deeper into his pillow, "That tickles,"

The tickling shifted to his toes, causing him to protest weakly into the bed-sheets.

His eyes snapped open and he shot up and out of bed. Instead of Sakura, all he found was a lone cockroach perched onto his big toe.

The entire building rang with his screams.

After he had shaken his foot until the little pest had scurried off for safety underneath his bed, he glanced outside. The weather wasn't looking as good as yesterday, a mixture of various shades of gray.

He opened the fridge only to find a carton which he was absolutely sure he had thrown out last night.

His eyes narrowed at the offending cow on the side of the container which was staring back, almost mocking him. He snuck a quick look at the trash-bin which was suspiciously empty.

He turned back to the cow, then to the bin, and then back to the cow again.

"Is this some idea of a joke!?" he said as he chucked the carton into the bin, and studied his surroundings furiously for signs of an intruder. "Kakashi-sensei, that wasn't funny!"

The apartment remained silent. He left his home in a fury.

It was a strange walk. He kept bumping into other ninja teams who were suspiciously familiar. It only finally came to him when he bumped into the fifth team.

"Eh," said Naruto, pointing rudely at the three Konoha nins. "I know you guys!"

"Who are you?" the oldest boy asked, frowning at Naruto's rudeness.

"You were in the dream I had a few days ago," Naruto pointed at the next guy. "And he was the first guy to get kicked out of the exam."

"Excuse me?" the boy spluttered, his face turning an unhealthy shade of red, "I would never fail the exam. Are you trying to scare us or something, you little punk?"

"Calm down, Sukima," the boy who had spoken first replied and placed a hand on Sukima's shoulders, "He's from our village. And you—" he sent a withering look in Naruto's direction, "There's no need to let people down like that, right before the first exam."

"What are you talking about? The first exam was yesterday," said Naruto, his arms folding together.

"…Are you dense or something?" Sukima choked out, unsure on whether he was joking or not, "The exam is in forty-five minutes. Are you purposely trying to get us to miss it or something?"

"Let's just leave the kid alone, he obviously doesn't know what he's talking about," the third member finally spoke up, trying to relieve the tension.

They turned on their heels and left, with Sukima cursing underneath his breath about idiocy of certain blonds.

Naruto at this point had no idea what to believe. He was sure that Kakashi had walked him home yesterday, and that he had gotten his team disqualified by absence from the Chunin Exams.

They were obviously trying to confuse him. And to a fellow Konoha ninja too. How rude.

But his curiosity was eating at his brain. Where were they heading? He was still a little early, and could spare a little of his time to do some investigation.

That's how he found himself trailing them from the rooftops. To his dismay, the three Chunin hopefuls were actually heading in the direction of the academy. Where a large crowd of other various ninjas were pooling around the doors of the building.

He jumped down to the street ungracefully, watching in astonishment. That was a lot of people for just a little prank.

All thoughts flew out of his head as he felt a sudden stinging pinch around his ear.

"Ow, ow, ow," he tried to pull away, only to feel the pain increase tremendously.

"Naruto," his name was grumbled by his very menacing teammate who was currently pulling at his ear with no mercy, "Where have you been?" she asked.

"Sakura-chan, I-I, OW," he resisted the urge to yelp, "My ear, Sakura-chan,"

"Sasuke-kun and I, have been looking everywhere for you," she said, her green eyes flaring with anger, "Why were you late?"

"Late to what?" he squeals. It was apparently the wrong thing to say, because she tightened her hold on his ear.

"Don't tell me you forgot about the exam, dammit!"

"No, no, no, of course not," he attempted to shake his head but his abused ear pleaded for him to stop.

"Come on, we're late," she said as she dragged him by the collar and headed back to the building, ignoring Naruto's protests.

Almost immediately they headed into the classroom as a team and sat at their respective seats after picking a number. However instead of sitting next to Hinata this time, Naruto found himself wedged between a Suna-nin and an Ame-nin. This only spawned further confusion on his part.

It wasn't until the protractor Morino Ibiki had strutted in, and explained the rules including the one about the tenth question, when Naruto jumped out of his seat, pointed at him and began to yell at the top of his voice.

"I've seen you before!" he panicked. "And everyone else in this room!" his eyes searched around the room, recognizing most of the attendees.

"Sit the hell down," said Ibiki, his glare sending shivers down Naruto's spine.

He lowered his finger, but almost continued to protest until Ibiki barked out a sharp "NOW."

The boy reluctantly sunk back into his seat, staring with wide eyes at the white sheet of paper in front of him. That had the same awful nine questions as he had in his dream. Then it hit him.

It all made sense now. The explanation was simple.

 _He could predict the future._

* * *

 **AN: It's my attempt at writing a decent Chunin Exam Timeloop. The only similarities between this one and CED is the first scene. Let me know your thoughts!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Credit:** PixeltheSquare for looking over this chapter, and to Ser Serendipity for exchanging ideas, and opinions with me.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

* * *

Naruto skimmed through his examination paper two more times in quick succession. Everything seemed to be the same as it had been in his dreams. His fingers relaxed their grip around the pencil in his hand, and he slumped backwards into his seat.

He had a bloodline limit—one that could tell the future! The endless possibilities wove themselves into his mind, his grin growing larger with each passing thought. It didn't come with cool abilities like copying jutsu—not that he'd ever admit that to Sasuke, but telling the future might as well be the next best thing.

He could predict mission outcomes beforehand, learn more about the enemies he'd later overcome, and maybe even know when Kakashi would actually show up to their team training sessions. Though knowing Kakashi, he would probably find a way around it, when he found out. If only he knew how his newfound ability worked. It seemed to activate every time he went to sleep, emerging as semi-realistic dreams. Now if he could just control—

His thoughts skidded to a stop as Ibiki's loud voice echoed through the room. "Candidate seventy-five, fail." Naruto swallowed nervously at the man's voice, and straightened himself in his chair.

"Come ON," he heard a familiar voice protest. It was the boy from earlier, Sukima, the one who had failed first in his visions too. "How could I be the first one to fail?"

Naruto felt a burning gaze on his back, and knew Sukima was glaring at him, probably blaming him for his predicament. He kept his eyes glued to his paper, and pretended to concentrate on the exam until the boy and his teammates walked out of the room. He heard a faint yell of 'HOW DID HE KNOW?' from the hallway of the academy and snickered under his breath.

After the commotion died down, the sounds of pencils scratching filled the room once again. More people were failed as the exam continued on, but Naruto had bigger things to think about.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly as the significance of his gift revealed another advantage. He could pass the Chunin Exams and become a Chunin before Sasuke!

Of course that meant he couldn't brag about his bloodline limit until after the exams, but it was a small price to pay for a sweet victory.

The blond got to work immediately, scribbling out a rough draft of what he could remember in the finals. Recalling his fight with Neji, he wrote that down first, and as an afterthought – his first fight with Kiba. He'd just replicate the way he fought in the visions.

He underlined the words 'Farts hurt Kiba's nose' then noted down on the corner of the page to add more onions into his ramen until the preliminaries finished. Maybe he should head down to Ichiraku's after this round was over and get one large bowl of mouthwatering miso ramen. Or five.

"Alright, listen up," Ibiki cut through the silence, catching the attention of the Chunin hopefuls, "It's time for the tenth question." Naruto looked up from his paper. "But there are special rules that come with this question."

Finally.

It was time to lay back and relax. He knew it was a sham, and how it was all a trick to weed out more examinees. Ha, he hadn't fallen for it in his vision, and he wouldn't fall for it now.

He rested his chin in his hand with his elbow on the desk and watched everybody around him sweat it out. Genin left the room in threes at a slow, steady pace, and Naruto resisted the urge to yawn. He just wanted to leave already.

Then he froze in shock.

He watched her gradually raise her arm with hesitation, as though unsure of her choice. He opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again, rather like a wide-eyed fish.

What was Sakura doing? This wasn't what he remembered. They couldn't fail now.

Then he did the only thing that came to mind in his state of panic. He threw the pencil in his hand at the back of his teammate's head and watched it bounce off with a soft _clack_.

Her arm dropped to her side, and she twisted her head so quickly, Naruto was sure he heard her neck crack. Hard green eyes stared at Naruto then glanced at his desk which was suspiciously lacking a pencil. Her face twisted into a nasty scowl and she slid her finger across her slender neck, silently promising him intense pain when she got her hands on him.

Sakura's attempts of giving up were forgotten as she continued to fume over what had just happened. Naruto could almost feel the pain that he was guaranteed to receive as soon as he walked out that door.

"Everyone here… passes." Ibiki said with a smirk.

The few teams left in the room murmured in confusion. Naruto kept his head down and doodled on the side of his paper with his neighbor's pencil while the remaining teams threw questions at Ibiki, expecting answers.

Their questions were cut short as Anko had finally made her grand entrance into the room, sending pieces of broken glass onto the floor as she flew in through the window.

"Fifty-six teams? Not bad," she chuckled, as she brushed off a few stray glass pieces on her shoulder. "They'll be much less tomorrow."

Naruto was sure that the number had been much higher. Sneaking a few glances around the room proved his point. There were many more missing than what he remembered. What was different this time?

As the genin teams all got up to leave, he tried to sneak out through the crowd hoping to avoid being caught with his sheet of paper. Moments before heading through the door, he felt a strong grip on his shoulder, and found himself eye to eye with Mitarashi Anko.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" she purred, inching her face way too close for comfort. Naruto moved the hand gripping the paper behind his back, and smiled nervously.

"Heh heh, just a normal genin," he waved his other hand with exaggerated excitement. "Oh look there's my teammate," he shot a quick look at the door and was graced with the presence of an intimidating Sakura who was cracking her knuckles with an unhealthy level of enthusiasm.

Hanging back with Anko seemed a lot safer all of a sudden.

"Whatcha you got there, _normal genin_?" she licked the tips of her teeth.

"Nothing, nothing at all," he squeaked out, as he turned towards the door. "I'll be going now,"

Naruto felt the paper tear from his grip with no prior warning. Anko held up the torn sheet, and tilted her head in amusement.

"You know, taking things out of the examination room is against the rules," said Anko.

"I wanted something to remember my first exam, that's all!" Naruto replied, as he tugged at his collar nervously. Anko's eyes studied the paper in her hand before raising her head to look at him again.

"Farts kill Kiba's nose?" she read out slowly, with narrowed eyes. "You didn't even try to cheat, did you?"

The collar of his tracksuit felt even tighter now as she studied him intensely, but then Anko's entire demeanor changed within the next second as she beamed at him. "You've got guts, normal genin. With any luck, they'll still be in your body after the next round."

"I'm not going to die," he shot back, then glanced at Sakura who was still standing outside the door. The girl cracked a ferocious smile and growled a quiet 'Naruto'. Then she started stomping towards him.

"Wait, Sakura-chan, I can explain!" he looked around for Anko for support, but the woman had mysteriously disappeared from the room.

Traitor.

* * *

The door creaked and clacked as he entered his home. Still nursing the sore bruise, which Sakura had very affectionately given to him, he let himself fall back onto his unmade bed. She got to him before he could fully explain the situation, but in the end Sakura had calmed down enough to listen to his reasoning.

Naruto rolled over to his side, and squeezed his pillow tighter. He still couldn't believe what he had heard coming out of Sakura's mouth. She had been about to give up for him! So that he could become Hokage! He buried his head further into the cloth, his smile burning through it. She believed that he could do it. That just put Sakura up a few notches on his favorite people list.

But when he had asked her if she wanted to go on a date, she had shaken her head and called him an idiot. Her rejection did nothing to damper his spirit and despite the pain in his jaw, he had nearly skipped all the way to his apartment.

It did suck that he didn't have his paper. It meant he had to write everything from scratch.

He pushed himself out of bed and scrambled to find any scrap paper and pencil in the mess on the floor. He settled for a blunt pencil and the back of a stained, worn out scroll from his academy days.

He jotted down all he could remember about Neji and his techniques, and then another section about Kiba and Akamaru. He chewed on the end of his pencil before remembering that he also had the second exam to worry about.

The pencil dropped out of his mouth as images of a disturbingly pale face and snakes emptied into his mind. Orochimaru was going to ambush the team, and he was going to end up swallowed by a stupid snake. The details of the fight in the forest were at best hazy to him, and seemed like they had occurred almost a decade ago.

He grit his teeth. Orochimaru was going to be a really difficult opponent to fight against. Worse than Kiba, and much worse than Neji. How did they get past him the first time? He couldn't even remember. He struck his fist on the floor in frustration. His dreams were so infuriating to understand. They weren't even that accurate. He didn't remember talking to Anko, or Sakura trying to give up.

There were also other dreams like failing the exam. He was sure that Kakashi had given him an entire lecture on the way back home, but that didn't even happen today. It was like he was having multiple outcomes for one situation. He rubbed his forehead. Bloodline limits made no sense.

He'll figure it out later. There were bigger issues at stake, like overcoming Orochimaru.

'Think, think, think.' he tapped his pencil onto his head. Maybe a quick cup of ramen could help him think better? No, he needed to finish this first.

Half an hour later, all he had gotten down was 'kick his ass' and 'finish the exam quicker'. Making strategy plans like this wasn't his forte; he preferred making plans on the fly or just beating up the problem until it went away. He knew everyone important to him survived in his vision so he wasn't too worried about this round. The problem was when Orochimaru would go and attack the old man in the third round.

He'd tell the old man after the exam. That way, nobody would know he predicted and cheated his way through the entire exam, and he could just say that Orochimaru let it slip. That sounded believable. Or better yet, he'll hurt the snake before the bastard could hurt anybody else.

Satisfied with his plans, he went to the kitchen and boiled water for his ramen.

* * *

They had been running through the Forest of Death for over an hour now. At first it had been nerve-wracking and even a little exciting, but they still hadn't run into any other teams and were still stuck with their one Earth scroll. By now, all the adrenaline in Naruto's body had fizzled out until it became nothing more than a dull pang in his chest.

"Where are all the people?" said Naruto, as he slapped at a large insect that was far too close for his liking.

"It is a bit strange. I'm pretty sure there were other genin watching us while the proctor was explaining the rules." Sakura replied, her eyes scanning their surroundings.

"We are rookies, so we come across as weak to the older, more experienced genin," said Sasuke, as he jumped over another branch. "They will most likely attempt to ambush us, once the enemy finds a chance, so stay aware of your surroundings." He paused and then jumped down from the bulky branch, racing off into a large clearing, with Naruto and Sakura close behind.

"Eh, why'd you stop?" asked Naruto.

"We're out in the open, so nobody can sneak up on us while we take a break," Sasuke pulled his backpack and placed it on the ground. "We'll split up duties – Naruto, you're in charge of catching dinner, and Sakura you set up the fire," he pulled out strands of wire and explosive tags. "I'll set up traps."

"Why am I the only one who has to get wet?" Naruto muttered, while pulling off his jacket.

"Because Sasuke is better at setting traps, and you'll probably burn down the entire forest if we let you start a fire, idiot!" said Sakura in an irritated voice.

The blond muttered under his breath as he walked to the stream to catch their dinner.

* * *

Naruto dripped all the way back to the campsite in his boxers, with three scrawny fish tucked in between his arms.

"Here." he almost threw the slippery things into Sakura's open arms. She immediately began to scrape off their scales with the edge of her kunai.

"They're a bit thin," she said, as she brushed one of her bangs out of her face. "But I guess it will do for now."

"Great," Naruto pulled his pants up, and reached for his jacket, "Because I am never fishing again! Those bastards keep getting away!"

"Only an idiot like you would find fishing difficult," said Sasuke, as he walked back, his clothes slightly grubby with dirt.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto puffed out his chest, "I'd like to see you do any better,"

"It won't take much effort to beat someone like you,"

"Bastard."

"Dead last."

"Naruto, stop fighting with Sasuke-kun," Sakura didn't take her eyes off the skewered fish that was sizzling on top of the small fire.

"But Sasuke started it!" Naruto protested, pointing at Sasuke.

"And I'm ending it," Sakura replied firmly, as she continued turning the fish.

Lunch was an almost quiet affair, with only Naruto's loud chewing breaking the silence.

After they had finished their small meal, Naruto let out a loud burp, and then patted his belly in satisfaction.

"That was great, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, "Not as good as ramen, but still—"

"Shut up," Sasuke hissed, as he glared at the blond.

"I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to—huh?" Naruto took a step back as Sasuke pulled out a kunai and slipped into a defensive position, "Take it easy will ya?"

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, "Naruto didn't mean it—"

"Be quiet and listen," Sasuke was staring past them now, his eyes hardening as they swept the scenery ahead of him. "Something is wrong; the forest is too quiet,"

Naruto's heart felt like it was beating at his throat like a drum as he realized that Sasuke was right. The birds were silent, and the smaller animals had stopped bickering and chattering amongst themselves. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry.

Naruto and Sakura slipped into their defensive stances and joined Sasuke with their backs facing each other.

Was it Orochimaru? Naruto was regretting his decision to not tell his teammates about the guy, the reality of the situation finally hitting him in the face. This wasn't some vision, it was real life. His teammate's lives were at stake.

Before he could open his mouth, the sound of a twig snapping was heard from the grove of trees. Sasuke immediately flung a kunai, and then sucked in a deep breath before releasing a blazing fireball in the direction of the sound. The flickering flames fed on the trees and steadily grew into an insatiable inferno.

At first Naruto thought that it was nothing, just an animal that made a mistake and ended up as barbeque. Then Sakura raised a single finger, and pointed at the dirt just ahead of them.

"The dirt is moving," she said with a shaky voice.

"The dirt?" Naruto replied, his head craning to catch a glimpse.

"No wait, it's not dirt, it's sand!" she yelled out.

The barely noticeable trickle of sand suddenly thickened, forming a flexible whip.

The sand whip lashed at them, striking at their feet like a viper only to meet nothing but dirt and rock.

It was moving too fast. Almost too fast for Naruto's eyes to catch up.

"Gaara," he gritted his teeth, and let his fingers move and form the familiar hand-signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Clones soared into action, half of them sprinting towards the forest where he knew Gaara was lurking. The other half continued alongside him as support, protecting his teammates from harm as they jumped in the way of the ruthless sand.

"He's straight ahead, just on the edge of the forest." Naruto yelled out, as another clone disappeared, "We can't keep dodging forever,"

The sand managed to wrap itself around Sasuke's midsection, only to squeeze painfully onto one of the Naruto clones that Sasuke substituted with.

Sasuke was at his side again, sweating like a madman, with his bangs plastered to his forehead. Sakura panted on his other side, but showed no sign of giving up.

Then the sand disappeared, no retreated back into the forest.

Gaara stepped into the clearing, drawing their attention. The sand was still entering the gourd on his back.

"Sasuke Uchiha," he said, the tone entirely monotone. "Mother calls for your blood."

Sasuke threw a shuriken at him in response. Gaara did not budge. He didn't have to.

The sand moved instantly, shielding Gaara's face from harm.

Naruto spammed his signature technique, sending the clones wave by wave at the redhead to no avail.

They were all crushed with a single swipe of Gaara's sand.

"I was not talking to you." Gaara crossed his arms, and then raised his arm. Sand swirled around him forming a grainy ocean that was ready to attack whoever stood in his way.

"Sand Coffin."

The sand twisted and turned towards Naruto but he managed to delay the oncoming sea by substituting himself with a clone. The sand did not stop and instead changed direction and headed straight for Sakura.

"Sakura RUN!" Naruto shouted, his eyes widening.

It was too late.

The sand wrapped around Sakura's entire leg, and then it pulsed.

Blood splattered with a disgusting squelch, turning the golden sand a disturbing shade of red.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice wavered before he turned to the side and started emptying his stomach of its contents.

Then Sakura started screaming at the top of her lungs in pain.

Sakura's leg wasn't salvageable in that state.

Sakura just lost a leg.

He felt the anger build up again from the pits of his stomach. He wanted to hurt Gaara, make him pay for what he did to Sakura. Another wave prepared to attack him as well, but Naruto didn't care about what happened to him. Sakura was not okay. This was not okay.

"Gaara, stop!" A blonde with four pigtails and a boy with purple face paint made their presence known at that moment, but they were still standing a good safe distance away from Gaara.

"We need one of them alive." Temari said, her voice strained, like she was ready to bolt.

Gaara scowled back, the sand around Sakura retreated until it was hanging above him, ready to suffocate those who dared interrupt him. Naruto formed a clone, and it raced towards Sakura, carrying her bridal style back to them, and far away from Gaara. Far away from the monster.

"For the s-scroll," Temari continued, her fingers clenching at the large fan on her back. "We need to get to the next round. Remember?"

Gaara said nothing and set his attention back to Team Seven.

"I'll kill you all." his eyes turned to Sasuke, "I'll leave you for last."

Sasuke did not waste any time.

"Naruto," he spun towards them, his voice panicked. "I'll hold him off, take Sakura and get out of here,"

"We can't leave you behind," Naruto yelled back.

"He wants me alive," Sasuke began to talk but Naruto interrupted.

"You think he's going to leave you alive?" Naruto could feel his anger pulsing around his chest, and resisted the urge to just drop everything and tear into Gaara right there. "I'll deal with Gaara, and you take Sakura and get away."

"I can take him alone."

"No you can't," Naruto replied, with a scowl, "but I can keep him busy with my clones."

"You're not going to survive—"

"Sure I will," Naruto gritted his teeth, as he handed Sakura gently into Sasuke's arms. "I'm going to become Hokage remember? I can't do that if I'm dead."

Sasuke paused, then nodded before taking off with Sakura, who was still screaming.

Sand spun out again towards his retreating teammates but Naruto sliced through it with one of his kunai.

"Your battle is with me," he growled.

"I couldn't care less about you," Gaara replied.

Sand flew at Naruto like bullets, but he continued to sprint forward with his kunai cutting through each attack. He pressed his fingers together, hastily forming an army of clones.

A slight smirk appeared on Gaara's face for a split second, right before he clenched his fist. More sand shot out of his gourd and attached themselves to the clones which disappeared in wisps of smoke.

The particles merged back together, and collided onto the remaining blond with a thunderous slap.

Harsh grains of sand scraped against Naruto's skin, making him feel like he was being rubbed against hundreds of sheets of sandpaper, all at once. He feebly tried to bring his hands together to form more clones but the sad was too dense.

Naruto opened his mouth to scream, but sand flew down his throat, grazing at his innards, and filling up his lungs. He was suffocating.

He couldn't die here. Not like this.

"Sand Coffin."

There was pressure. He felt his head tear apart.

* * *

Naruto tore at his throat, scratching until he felt blood. His body was seized up by a coughing fit, as he rolled around, trying to breathe in cool, pure air. The sensation of sand was still there, rough and heavy in his gullet.

As soon as his coughs had died down, he hurdled out of the door, not caring that he was still in his pajamas. Civilians on their early morning walks shot him pointed looks for his appearance, but he paid no attention.

His heart thumped hard against his ribs as he took a sharp right, and then ran up the side of a building. He wasted no time, as he pulled up the large window with minimal effort. He found himself face to face with a kunai, its tip glinting in the light.

"Sasuke?" Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke's arm, pushing it away from him. "Is Sakura okay?"

Sasuke's face was blank. He gave Naruto a quick up and down glance, before frowning.

"What's wrong with Sakura?" he asked stiffly, his eyes studying Naruto for any reactions. "Did something happen last night?"

"Don't fuck with me," the blond pushed Sasuke against the wall. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Naruto," Sasuke shoved the boy back, with a scowl on his face. "What is wrong with you?"

"I told you to stop it!" he snarled back. "Yesterday when we were all in the forest for the Chunin exam—"

"Exam?" Sasuke stared at Naruto with confusion. "Today is the Chunin Exam, idiot." He glanced at Naruto's sleeping cap. "It seems that even someone like you can't separate dreams from reality."

"It wasn't a dream!" said Naruto, as he grinded his teeth together. "Gaara started choking me with sand, and I know it happened!"

"Then how are you still alive?" Sasuke replied dryly, "And why are you dressed like that?"

"I was in a rush to get here, okay!" Naruto snapped. "And I don't know how I'm alive."

"Whatever." Sasuke checked his weapon pouch for missing tools, and then turned back to Naruto. "You should get changed before you head to the academy. Wouldn't want you to make a bigger fool of yourself than you already are."

The academy. Of course. Just another vision.

But this meant that Sakura was going to get hurt. Hiding his bloodline limit wasn't worth it.

"Sasuke, I know this is going to sound stupid, but—" he took in a deep breath, "I have this bloodline limit that got activated, but I don't know what to do."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at Naruto and tried to not look too interested as he inclined his head closer.

"You have a bloodline limit? What does it do?" he asked.

Naruto leaned his head closer.

"I get dreams and visions of the future—No Sasuke, I'm serious!" Naruto insisted, pleading him to continue listening. "That's why I thought we did the Chunin Exam. I know what the next rounds are."

Sasuke's attentive face became a skeptical one.

"I already know you're an idiot," he said with disinterest. "You don't have to lie about it."

"But I know what the first round is! It's a written exam where we can't cheat but we have to, and there's a tenth question which isn't really a question—"

"What does any of that have to do with being a Chunin?" Sasuke interrupted, as he turned to leave his apartment. "And get out of my house."

Naruto walked after Sasuke with his hands flying in all directions as he tried to explain the situation to a very unconvinced Sasuke.

They were joined by Sakura who greeted Sasuke with a warm smile. She sent Naruto a look of horror as she took a glimpse of his clothes.

"What are you wearing?" Sakura slapped a hand against her cheek. "Ino's going to have a field day with this."

"Sakura, you're okay!" Naruto cried out as he tried to hug her. Sakura immediately backed away from his arms as she looked at him with confusion.

"Naruto, are you okay?" she asked slowly.

"I'm more than okay. I'm just so happy that you're here," he replied with a slightly gruff voice.

"…Right." Sakura turned to Sasuke. "We should get going or else we're going to be late."

Sakura and Sasuke walked on ahead, while Naruto continued to lag behind them both.

If Sasuke didn't believe him, Sakura most certainly wouldn't either. There had to be some way to prove that he could tell the future.

Naruto clenched his hands into tight fists at his side. They had to believe him.

He ignored the jeers and laughter from the other genin, and held his head up high as he walked into the academy.

Nobody was getting hurt if he had anything to say about it.

* * *

 **A/N: Criticism is welcome. Would love to hear your thoughts.**


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